Class 9: The Jury

This class examines the role of the jury in capital sentencing, the selection of juries through the questioning of prospective jurors with the exclusion of those who cannot be fair and impartial, the use of peremptory strikes by the parties, the instructions to the jury and its deliberations. During jury selection, prospective jurors may be questioned about such things as their knowledge of the case from pretrial publicity, their racial attitudes, and whether their attitudes toward capital punishment would interfere with their ability to fairly consider the death penalty. “Peremptory strikes” allow both prosecutors and defense counsel to freely strike a certain number of jurors. Historically, they have been used to exclude racial minorities from jury service. Prof. Bright addresses that history and analyzes whether the Supreme Court’s decisions prohibiting such discrimination are sufficient to prevent it. Sia Sanneh of the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama discusses findings by the Initiative of discrimination in the use of peremptory strikes in Alabama. Professor Marla Sandys, a jury expert and professor of criminal justice at Indiana University, discusses the findings of her studies on how jurors make life-and-death decisions.

A. Jury Selection

The segment examines the law and practice of jury selection, including how jury selection is conducted, questioning of prospective jurors about sensitive issues such as racial bias, the exclusion of jurors because of their attitudes on the death penalty, and rulings by judges about whether prospective jurors can be fair and impartial.

Readings:

Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584 (2002), and other cases involving role of judge and jury in determining sentence

The Jury Pool – discrimination in selection; representativeness

Discussion of Norris v. Alabama, 294 U.S. 587, 590-91 (1935), the second time the Supreme Court reviewed the Scottsboro case, and other cases involving discrimination in selecting jury pools for grand and trial juries

Excerpts from the jury selection in Snyder v. Louisiana, showing questioning of prospective jurors, motions to strike jurors who cannot be fair and impartial, and the exercise of peremptory strikes, covered in the next section. The Supreme Court reviewed the jury selection to decide whether the prosecutor had discriminated against African Americans in the use of his peremptory strikes. It is included as an example of one of many ways in which juries are selected.

Additional information on Snyder, including the Supreme Court’s opinion and audio of oral argument, can be found here.

Recommended Reading:

Lecture:

B. Peremptory Strikes

“Peremptory strikes” allow both prosecutors and defense counsel to freely strike a certain number of jurors. Historically, peremptory strikes have been used to exclude racial minorities from jury service. This segment addresses that history and analyzes whether the Supreme Court’s decisions prohibiting such discrimination are sufficient to prevent it.

Interview of Marla Sandys:

This segment examines how jurors are instructed with regard to deciding between life and death, what they may be told regarding their decisions, the pressures of jury deliberations, and what happens when jurors cannot agree. Marla Sandys, a jury expert and professor of criminal justice at Indiana University, discusses the findings of her studies on how jurors make life-and-death decisions.